Misunderstood: The story of Nina Myers
by Princess Emily the Strange
Summary: What really happened to the ever daunting Nina Myers. The story behind her stony exterior, what drove her to the extremes, and her hope.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Nina locked in the code and began downloading the files onto her disc drive. She heard the alarm start, an annoying beeping that penetrating the walls of the tech room.

Damn! They'd found her! Her cover was completely blown. Damn it!

She glanced over at Teri, feeling the tears well in her eyes. She was going to have to kill her, wasn't she? If she left Teri, she'd rat Nina out, and Mona would target Jack.

Her cover was completely blown. Somehow they had traced the trail of suspicions, and figured out the equation equaled her.

Her phone buzzed and she flipped it briskly.

"Where are you?" Mona yelled. She sounded anxious, as if she didn't want to know the answer.

"I'm leaving now," Nina said smoothly, controlling her voice.

"You have sixteen minutes to reach the pickup point. We're routing you to Munich for three days."

Germany? Why couldn't she go to Mona directly? She wanted to see her as soon as possible, all the better to throttle her. Mona was the one who had blackmailed Nina into the mess that had escalated into treason, and Nina wished her dead.

"Why Germany? Why can't I come to you directly?" Nina asked, her voice tense.

"I _don't know_," Mona answered, her voice thick with her European accent. "These are the instructions."

Nina reached for the disc and slid it into her pocket. She knew that was her way out. If she gave this to the terrorists, they would either let her go or kill her. Either way, she would be rid of the hopeless guilt she'd felt for the past few months.

"You need to be untraceable during that time," Mona shrilled. "Make sure nothing can connect you to Germany."

Oh, great. Nina looked over at Teri, her heart sinking and dying. She couldn't do it. She'd refuse to. It wasn't worth it. Jamey was one thing, but Teri?

But if she refused to take care of Teri, they'd find out and hurt Jack. They had a trump card, and they'd play it if she became a liability.

Nina swallowed hard. "Did you hear me?" Mona demanded, her voice breaking through Nina's reverie.

"All right." Nina's voice was hard and cold. She slid the phone shut. Oh, God. She really was going to have to kill Teri Bauer. She couldn't do it. Jack was going to kill her. She was trying so hard to protect him, and if she didn't deal with Teri, Jack would die.

It was an impossible choice, but she loved Jack more than she loved Teri. He needed to live. She didn't. As harsh as her thoughts were, she knew it was fact.

"I'm leaving now, Teri. I'm going to lock you in from the outside. Someone will find you soon." Nina cocked the silenced gun, her slim fingers shaking as they rested on the trigger. "Everything will be fine."

She turned to face Teri abruptly and aimed. Three shots rang clearly, and Nina opened her eyes. She was no field agent, but she was as trained as any C.T.U. personnel.

The tears stung her eyes for the third time that day, making her wipe her eyes and curse herself for being weak, for being chicken. She needed to escape C.T.U.

The door opened slowly and Nina walked briskly down the hall.

"Ms. Myers," she heard behind her and she turned on her heels and shot. The guard's white shirt was immediately stained with blood and he fell backwards, cracking his head on the linoleum.

Nina bolted, knowing she only had a few minutes. The elevator doors enclosed her, and she waited impatiently for it to reach the parking lot.

The guard at the exit took a second to shoot, and Nina grabbed her ring of keys. Once checking to make sure the parking lot was clear, she scampered, running with urgency about her. She breathed heavily, slamming her car door closed.

Nina started the ignition and floored it. She turned hazardously around the corner and could see the exit opening in front of her.

Just then, a black government SUV wheeled around the corner and materialized in front of her. Jack!

What was she supposed to do? Mona had promised she wouldn't need to hurt him, but by running away, she would make him suspicious. So she raised her gun and fired.

Jack's face was shocked and hurt, but he raised his own weapon and followed her lead. They fired together, scattering etched lines over their windshields. Nina wheeled out of his path and accidentally smashed the hood of a small dark car. The impact sent her gun flying out of her hand.

The car lurched back and Nina felt her head fly back and slam hard against the metal on the back of her seat. She could feel her forehead bleeding from the shattered glass pieces and realized she'd split her lip. Nina winced.

She knew she wouldn't escape and she didn't care. Perhaps Jack would kill her. As far as she knew, she deserved it. She deserved it anyway. She'd gotten herself into this mess.

Jack burst out of his car, his gun held at arm's length away from him. He looked furious beyond anything rational.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" He was insanely mad. She cowered from him like this. He was crazed. He wanted to kill her.

"Nina, put your hands on the steering wheel!" he roared, advancing on Nina as she shrank back, her face a careful mask of defeat. She couldn't let him see the truth. Wouldn't.

When he saw she was hurt and bleeding, he wrenched open the door of her car, his gun still at the ready. Nina looked up at him shamefully, but he dragged her from the car by her neck and slammed her against the door.

"Jack," she struggled, fighting to breathe against his crushing grip. "If you kill me, you won't know who I work for."

She kept breathing shallowly, resisting his hands hurting her, killing her.

"You think I work for Drazen," she gasped, her heart pounding. "But I don't."

Jack's face contorted in anger. "I trusted you, Nina," he told her, his voice bitter and lost. Oh, God. He _hated _her. Loathed her. Detested her being.

"I was just trying to do my job," she mumbled. It was the truth. She'd taken on too much, though.

Jack's hands tightened their grip and her vision darkened. "Your job? My wife and daughter almost_ died _today. How many people that trusted you lost their life today because you were doing your job?" He was beyond furious now, as he thought of the answer. "Walsh? Jamey? Ellis? How many others?" he asked her in a more reasonable tone.

Through her peripheral vision, Nina saw balding George Mason come running awkwardly with three guards.

Nina played her trump card. "How many people died because of you, Jack?"

Jack shoved her neck hard and cocked his gun. Nina's eyes lost their focus and she gazed off into space. She was ready for death. She welcomed it. It was a lot less complicated than her life thus far.

George's voice swirled through the fog. "Jack, take it easy. We need her alive." His voice was soothing, pleading with Jack not to murder Nina.

It came again. "Come on, Jack. Kim just got here. They're taking her inside now. Come on."

Why was Kim brought to C.T.U.? To see her dead mother? _That _was going to be horrible. She was lucky Jack hadn't discovered Teri yet.

Tony's lovely voice came through her darkness, rich and dark. "Jack, don't do it."

George returned again. Where did Tony go? "Come on, Jack. Come be with your family. Come on, let's go."

Jack held tighter. He was shaking now, ready to shoot her.

"Let's go inside," called George, the mediator. "This is no good. Come on, Jack."

Nina felt Jack squeeze her painfully again, and then he shoved her hard, driving her face down into the pavement. Nina cried out as she struck the ground, her face scraped raw by the pavement. The asphalt bit through the knees of her pants and she could feel them smart.

Two strong pairs of arms grabbed her and jerked her to her feet. Nina coughed, her lungs on fire. She could feel his touch on her neck, not gentle as he once was. Brutal. Painful.

She watched Jack leave. This was probably the last time she'd ever see him. She didn't want to see him like this, though. He wasn't the Jack she knew so well. He was so harsh.

Nina felt metal bite into her wrists and she threw her head back. Tony leaned against a car, opposite her. He looked hurt, and broken. His expression was painful to see. She sent him a pleading look. He was going to hate her forever, too.

Nina swallowed a mouthful of blood, ignoring the salty, tangy taste of it. She hoped once she got to Federal, she'd be allowed to clean up.

"You want to take her up?" one of the guards asked. His friend nodded, taking Nina. She coughed again, wheezing from her near strangulation.

"Come on, let's go," the guard said to Nina, taking her to the door of the parking garage. "Mr. Mason!" he called, referring to George.

George turned. "Yes?" he said briskly, striding over to Nina.

"Do you have her file?"

George paused. "Yes." He strode over to a workstation and picked up a tan folder. "Here."

The guard paused. "Thank you, Mr. Mason."

Tears smarted in Nina's eyes and she forced them not to fall. She was as much a terrorist as the people she'd worked to convict. It didn't matter that Jack would have done the same thing. She'd been blackmailed. But nobody would believe her. Why would they? She wasn't doing it for her family, like Jack. Just earlier today, he'd helped the terrorists smuggle weaponry past security at the breakfast, refused to inform C.T.U. of the terrorists' location, and had nearly killed David Palmer. Not to mention he'd shot her, though she _was_ covered by the flak jacket.

But Jack was thoroughly a patriot. And nobody would believe she was after she'd deceived them.

The guard frisked her, running a gloved hand down her back, down her legs, in her pockets. He came up with her cell phone and the disc she'd slipped in her pants pocket.

It didn't hold anything important really; it was just information complied from protocall on this day. For Mona. She wanted to be clear on how much the 'American agents' knew.

Her guard passed the items to an analyst, to be sent to tech for recovery. The cell was scrambled, so Mona, Michael, and Marcus wouldn't be found out.

What was she supposed to do? If she turned in the terrorists, it'd be more hard evidence against her, supporting the idea that she was a terrorist. If she didn't, she was still screwed. She was dead, either way.

But she did deserve it.

Or did she?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The guard who'd opted to take her to Federal grabbed her arm roughly and shoved her forward. She stumbled and fell down, skinning her knees again. Her cheek grazed the pavement and she felt warm blood trickling to her chin.

"Get up," the guard told her shortly, yanking her arm and collar. She jerked away from his touch. People touching her repulsed her. Jack and Tony were the only ones who ever could. She loved them. Trusted them.

The guard dragged her to a black government van with a bulletproof divider between the front and back seats and watched as he handcuffed her to the door.

Her guard started the car, and Nina looked out the window, watching C.T.U. fade into the background. She ran her free hand through her soft, shaggy hair. She knew the blood on her face had dried a little by now and she could feel her split lip burn. Ouch. _That_ was going to hurt for a while.

Nina pressed her face against the leather seat, curling her legs up behind her. The cold metal of the handcuffs bit into her left wrist and she rubbed it with her free hand. God, she was tired. She hadn't slept in two full days, and it was taking its toll on her.

Tears swam in her beautiful eyes. She just wanted this day to end. But the end was only beginning. She was going to be charged with _treason_. Murder. Felony. Many more crimes would follow that, even. They were going to kill her, or at least put her away for the rest of her life. It didn't matter. And after all she'd done to protect Jack, she was still going to jail for it. But at least Jack would be protected. He was safe now. She'd gotten his file out of their hands, and she'd protected it. The terrorists didn't have his cell anymore.

Nina closed her eyes and sighed. All she wanted was sleep. She didn't want to deal with it all right now. She couldn't. It was too painful. Nina wrapped her free arm around her slim waist and drifted into an uneasy but much-needed sleep.

(A few hours later)

Nina awoke to someone gently prodding her back. She moaned and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"I'm tired, Tony," she mumbled, rolling over.

"Ms. Myers," a voice called firmly from above her. Not Tony.

Nina moaned again, this time slowly opening her eyes. She was cruelly jerked back to her surroundings. Nina was lying on her side still, stretched out in the car. She rose to a sitting position slowly, running her right hand through her tangled hair.

"Ms. Myers," the guard repeated, taking her shoulder and uncuffing her from the door. "I need you to come with me."

Nina allowed him to lead her out into another parking lot. She could tell it was a government building from the row of black vans identical to the car she'd been brought in.

Inside at the lobby, she scanned the walls for some sense of a name. The wall behind her bore stenciled black lettering that read "California Federal Detention Facility." The room was bland. Washed out.

This is my life now, she told herself. Get used to it.

"Excuse me," the guard asked of a secretary sitting in a chair. The nametag she wore read 'Renée.' Her hair was a soft, dark auburn and she had wide blue eyes. She looked innocent, but tough. "I have Nina Myers, the mole uncovered at C.T.U. Los Angeles. She's under your jurisdiction to interrogate, process, prosecute, and hold, if necessary."

If they don't kill me, Nina thought mildly. She thought of it casually, and that scared her.

The woman blinked, and efficiently reached for a phone. "Hold, please," she said to Nina and her guard. Nina smirked. "Richard, it's C.T.U. A guard showed up with Nina Myers, the mole from C.T.U. Los Angeles."

She paused, listening for his response. "I'll send them up."

The woman turned to Nina and the guard. "You can take her to Richard Anderson's office, room 113. Up the stairs and down the hall."

"Thank you," the guard said, dragging Nina by her collar. Sooner or later, she was going to break from people touching her.

They approached another dull room. A thin, balding man in an ill-fitting gray suit rose gracefully to greet them.

"You must be from C.T.U.," he said formally, shaking the guard's hand. "Ah. You must be Nina Myers," he exclaimed, regarding Nina.

Nina glowered at him appropriately, defiantly staring him down. She wasn't some disobedient child; why was he treating her like one?

"I'll process her from here. Thanks for bringing her over," said Anderson, and with that, she and her fate were placed in his hands.

Nina was lead into a holding/interrogation room. She rolled her eyes. It was all going to start from here.

Anderson walked in after her, slapping her now thick file on the table. The guard in the room handcuffed her to the chair. She kept her head down, her pale eyes keen on the floor.

"So…you've had quite the history with us, Ms. Myers," he said, regarding her closely, judging her reaction. She looked at him silently.

Anderson sighed, raising his eyebrows. He opened the file, and sifted through a few papers. "You've been found to have been working closely with the terrorists who conspired to assassinate David Palmer and Agent Jack Bauer. This morning, your murdered Jamey Farrell and also attempted to help the terrorists escape from the warehouse they were operating the mission in. After this, you loaded a disc with intel on this entire day's investigation – yes we know about the disc," he said, after seeing her surprise. "Then, you kidnapped and murdered Teri Bauer, shot and killed three security guards, and tried to run."

At this, he glanced at Nina, whose eyes were rapidly filling with tears. Don't cry, she willed herself, biting her lip.

"What happened to you?" Anderson asked her. "You've served your country honorably for five years and then you betrayed it? That doesn't happen by accident. What did they do to you?"

He was just saying it to get her to talk; she could tell. Still, she couldn't help to respond to his words, because, after all, he was right.

"You wouldn't believe me," she muttered, looking down. He gazed fiercely at her.

"Ms. Myers, you're going to be tried for _treason_. They may as well decide to have you _killed_. Now, if you don't start cooperating, it's going to be a whole lot worse than it has to be."

Nina scoffed, but took him seriously. She needed to tell them something, but what?

Her story was ludicrous and she knew it, but it was the truth. She needed a convincing half-truth, something that was enough to be easy to tell.

"Fine," Nina said stonily. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Anderson blinked in surprise, but carefully resumed his former expression. Nina smirked inwardly, but knew she had to start talking.

"Can you explain how you became involved with the Serbian extremists?" he asked her, scratching his cheek.

Nina sighed. "Yes, I got involved with terrorists. Same as Jamey Farrel. They offered me reimbursement for my help in their operation and I helped them. It was only the money. Not a personal vendetta. That's it."

She could tell he knew she was hiding something, but he wrote down her information.

"Do you know their names, other than the Drazens?"

"No," she said. She couldn't betray them. She didn't know if they'd still consider targeting Jack to get her to shut up and do what they wanted.

"You say you were offered money. Did you receive it in advance? Through bank accounts?"

"It wasn't like that," Nina told him. "Once I completed the operation and they smuggled me out of the country, I'd be set up with the money and I could disappear."

"Where would you go?"

"I was supposed to be in Germany."

"Do you know where?"

"No."

"Alright," Anderson said. "I'm going to hook you up to the sensors. Nothing painful; they just check your pulse, monitor heart rate and such. I'm sure you know the procedures."

"Yeah," Nina said. She knew all too well.

_(An hour later)_

Nina emerged from the room exhausted. It was almost two in the morning by now, and she was wiped.

They had hooked her up to a passive response test after the interrogation and she had remained undetected. After conducting hundreds of interrogations such as hers, she knew how to mess with the responses. The machines were hardly reliable, anyways. They were only useful if one was desperate.

When they'd finally been convinced she had given up all the information they needed, Anderson had drawn up a profile for her, and she was released.

So now she traipsed down a hallway with two security personnel to go to Medical. That was going to be interesting. They were going to stick her full with needles and poke her to death.

They entered a sterile, white room occupied by a doctor and a nurse.

"We have Nina Myers for her exam," one of the guards said, releasing her. Nina stumbled and stopped between the three men.

"Hello, Nina," the doctor said gently, soothingly. He seemed kind, considering he was working in a federal prison facility surrounded by assholes and lowlifes. "My name is Doctor Ellis. I'll be examining you.

He was no Frankenstein, but you couldn't be sure. Nina walked forward hesitantly, shadowed by the guards. Ellis took her arm and led her to a table. The guard unlocked her cuffs and chained her to the table.

"You are right handed, aren't you?" Ellis asked her absently. She nodded slightly. Cautiously.

He first poured a little alcohol onto a cotton swab and began to wipe the smears of dried blood off her face. He was gentle, and though it stung, it felt nice to be clean again. Once he'd scrubbed the blood off, he began to examine her cuts.

"You must have had a day," he said, almost sympathetically. Nina looked at him in shock. This whole day, no one had tried to understand what she was going through. Anderson was all fake nice, the guards had treated her like a lowlife, and Jack had tried to kill her.

She winced as he dabbed a little antiseptic on her forehead, where she'd cracked her head. God, that hurt. The car had done a good job of beating her up, almost better than Jack did. Almost.

"Whoever tried to strangle you did a good job," Ellis said with concern. Nina looked down in surprise to see two sets of bluish finger-shaped bruises etched into her neck.

"Yeah," she said dully.

"Alright, Nina, I'm going to uncuff one of your hands so you can take your shirt off. We need to do a regular physical now."

"Okay." Did that mean he trusted her, too? He must have, because he unlocked her right arm, and she unbuttoned her shirt and took off her black jacket.

"Breathe in," he said. She felt the cold stethoscope pressing into her back. She breathed in and then out. In and out.

He had her do a few other things, drew blood from her finger, and wrote everything down. The guards came to the door.

"Is she done?"

"Yes," Ellis said, standing up. "Here's her file."

They chained Nina's hands together again and she readied herself to lead. Ellis patted her on the back.

"Good luck," he said, smiling at her. Nina smiled back, the first real smile she'd had in a while.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"_Myers," Nina said blearily into the phone._

"_Hello, Nina Myers," a woman's voice said, cool and confident. Nina didn't recognize it._

"_Who is this?" Nina demanded, not the least bit daunted by the woman's knowing tone._

"_Federal Agent Jack Bauer, access code Delta-575-Key, currently undercover in Ecuador on Operation Sky. Married to Teri Bauer, and has one daughter, Kimberly Bauer. Currently separated from his wife due to conflict." The voice rattled this off efficiently, not pausing for a breath._

"_What the hell do you want?" Nina shouted into the phone. "How do you know this?"  
_

"_I have Jack Bauer's file."_

_Nina's heart started pounding. That was impossible! "Prove it."_

"_I believe I just did."_

_She had a point. How the hell could she have known Jack was going to be in Ecuador? Only Nina, Chappelle, and Walsh knew that. So how did this woman break the firewall to get his personnel file?_

"_What do you want?" Nina repeated._

"_You have a strong connection to Jack Bauer, do you not?"_

"_That's irrelevant," Nina said defiantly._

"_Still, if something were to…happen to him, you wouldn't be pleased, would you?"_

_Nina went cold. "What do you mean? Are you targeting him? What's going on?"  
_

"_There's a man in Ecuador who knows Jack Bauer's exact location…and if I give him the word, Jack Bauer will die."_

"_Don't!" Nina gasped. "Don't hurt him, please! Please, don't hurt him." She knew her pleas were useless if this woman was serious._

"_If Jack Bauer is so important that I spare him, what will you give me?" The voice was taunting, mocking._

"_Anything," Nina said fiercely._

"_Consider yourself involved in an assassination attempt against Senator Palmer. At four in the afternoon tomorrow, you will go to the corner of Park and Randall. A man will be waiting there for you. He will inform you of your role in this mission. If you leak a word to anyone else, we will know immediately. There is another mole in C.T.U., a mole in addition to you, now. If you disobey his or my orders, Jack Bauer will die immediately."_

_With a highly audible click, the line disconnected. _

_What was Nina supposed to do. Her first instinct was to tell Walsh everything, but what if he was the mole? What did this woman mean? _

She couldn't trust anyone now. She was just going to have to figure this out on her own. Maybe she could track them down. Maybe she could blackmail them back.

All of those were maybes that never came to be…

Nina woke with a start. She didn't know where she was at first. The room she was in was a dull grayish white and the walls, ceiling, and floor were cement. It was a prison cell, she realized.

Last night, or early in the morning, really, after she'd been examined, they'd let her change into dull blue slacks and a matching shirt. Convict's attire. Brilliant. After that, she'd been brought here.

Nina looked around. The door was a frame of steel bars and there was a window on one wall that was barred also. It led to another cell, and there were probably more after that. Meaningless rows of cells for meaningless people. Criminals.

And she was now one of them.

The door rattled and she looked up to see a guard there. "Breakfast. Slide the bowl and spoon under the door when you're done."

He slid a bowl of something under the door along with a plastic spoon. She remained where she was, sitting cross-legged on the mattress, until he left. She then lunged for the food. It was just cereal and milk, but she was starving, and not very picky.

When she finished it, she slid the bowl and spoon under the door as she was told. Nina sighed. What was she supposed to do all day long? The cell next to her was unoccupied so far. No one to talk to.

She supposed most of them would get visitors, but what about her? She had no one. She was no one. Never before had she felt this alone, and it hurt her. She couldn't deal with it.

She supposedly had one phone call she could make every week. Who was she going to call? Tony? What would she say? "Hey, Tony, sorry for betraying you. Sorry for still caring about Jack. Sorry for hurting you." Like that would work.

She sighed. Was there a way to get books around here? She wanted something to _do_. If she was going to sit in this measly cage for sixteen-plus hours a day, she at least wanted to be able to keep her hands busy.

There was a rap at her door, and she turned her head slowly. Anderson stood there with a file.

"Hello, Nina."

She groaned. "Hello."

He looked at her briskly and then lifted the file. "We've prepared your case to go on trial. In a week's time, you will be brought before a courtroom to decide your conviction, and punishment. I suggest you plead guilty, but hope for a sympathetic jury. Or judge."

"Thank you." The words fell from her mouth automatically. He nodded curtly, and walked away, his shoes clicking against the shiny floor. Click. Click. Click.

Oh, God. What was she supposed to do here? There was no one to talk to. No one to listen to her. She had never been this alone before, and she realized how vulnerable she was.

Nina curled into a ball in the corner and started to sob. She shook, uncontrollable spasms, burying her head in her arms, and let it all out.

(A few hours later)

Nina woke up to voices and clanging from the wall next to her. She looked over through the bars to the cell next to her to see three guards trying to contain a girl screaming bloody murder. She looked really young, barely in her twenties.

"Let me go! No! I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" Her screams and cries echoed off the walls as she lunged for the door as it closed. The girl collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

Nina rose to her feet. Whoever she was, the girl was visibly shaken up about being here. What could she have possibly done that was enough to land her next to Nina, traitor to her country?

"Hey," Nina said softly, peering through the window. The girl looked up, and Nina saw her face was bleeding, and her eyes were streaming tears. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl stared at Nina, her dark hair falling lankly around her face. "What do you want?" she choked, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Are you okay?" Nina asked, resting her chin on her hand, and leaning against the wall. "What happened to you?"

"It's none of your business," the girl said coldly, running her hand through her hair. "Leave me alone."

Nina could see the girl closing her out, and knew she had to gain her trust. "My name is Nina Myers. What's your name?"

She hesitated. "Bryn."

"Hey, Bryn. How'd you wind up here?"

Bryn's eyes filled with more tears. "I didn't do it," she whispered.

Nina smiled reassuringly. "I know. You don't seem like the kind of person to do anything like I did."

She looked suspicious. "What did you do?"

Nina was shocked. She had no answer. "I don't know," she whispered, feeling her eyes burn. "I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bryn wasn't exactly the most trusting of people, but Nina persisted in talking to her. In just three days, Nina had exhausted every piece of information about herself except for anything related to IT. But Bryn barely replied, staring into space, crying silently.

"I shouldn't be here," Bryn whispered one day, leaning against the little window, her thin frame sagging limply.

"Yeah," Nina replied dully. "At least you know that."

"How is it good to know I'll be stuck here for my life?"

"Yeah, the feeling isn't great," Nina agreed hopelessly, blowing her lank bangs away from her forehead. It wasn't the best of days.

"It doesn't really matter for you, does it?" Bryn murmured, propping her head against her arm and looking into Nina's silver eyes.

Nina was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Bryn sighed. "It's not like you're going to be here for long, is it? I mean, you know what's going to happen to you. You said so yourself."

Nina felt her face burn red-hot and her fingers contracted into fists. "Shut the hell up." Her voice was low and cool, lethal. Impregnated and sloshing with venom. "You don't know anything about me. So shut up!"

Nina ran to the corner of her cell but the tears had already streaked down her face.

(One hour later)

Nina regretted what she'd said to Bryn, currently the only reason she was still sane. But was she really going to be executed? What was stopping them from killing her? She was nothing to them. She wouldn't be missed.

Maybe she was bitter, but secretly Nina knew no one cared for her. Tony, Jack, Mason, Jamey…she'd betrayed them all. Lied to them. Killed Jamey. All of them had trusted her, all of them had watched her decimate every knotted tie between them.

What could she do? There was no way she'd be able to handle this, so they should kill her. Everyone would be pleased.

The door rattled urgently, and Nina lifted her head off the floor. Anderson. She dropped it again, curling up tightly to the ground, holding herself rigidly. Cautious. Afraid.

"Ms. Myers, you are to be taken to trial in two days. The jury wishes for you to be assigned an attorney to plead your case. Thank you."

He started to walk away, but Nina stopped him with the words that had been running through her head for a week now.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?"

He broke in his stride, pivoting slowly to face Nina, who'd sat up, looking calmly at his face speculatively. Anderson stared hardly at her.

"It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be executed…it depends on the judge, the jury…" His voice trailed off.

"But they want me dead," she said emotionlessly, daring him to disagree. "You want me dead." Despite Nina's bravado, her voice broke slightly.

Anderson opened his mouth to speak, but Nina cut him off. "Sorry."

"I do not believe in the death penalty," he said fiercely. "I believe you should be here for a long time, but I do not think you deserve to die."

He strode briskly away, leaving Nina more confused than ever. She went to go apologize to Bryn.

Bryn was sitting on the bench, her head held in her hands. Nina tapped on the bars hesitantly. Bryn looked up, then turned away.

"Hey," Nina said breathily, slipping her fingers around the bars. "I'm sorry. It's just…you're right. I'm probably going to be executed." Her voice was brittle. Blunt.

Bryn looked at Nina, her face red and dewy with fallen tears. "No, I'm sorry. I know I'm wrong." She walked to Nina and touched her fingers gently through the bars. "I don't know what I'd do without you to talk to."

Nina smiled wryly. "I don't know either." She sighed lightly. "But the odds are always stacked against me. And this time, they're too high."

Settling back against the wall, she regretted contributing to them. She'd never really tried to save herself. She'd always been too weak, succumbing to what they wanted. There was one time she'd tried to explain to Tony, though. Despondently, she recalled the memory, holding to it, clinging to it. It was the one shred of truth that proved she wasn't as bad as she thought.

Flashback

"Tony," Nina pleaded. "I feel like…like I'm not doing my job." She willed herself to just confess to him, to explain, but hadn't the courage.

"Nina," Tony said, rubbing her hand, his fingers interlocked with hers. "You're the best at everything you do."

"No, Tony, I'm not. I – "

He pressed a finger to her fine lips, silencing her. "Nina, don't."

She sighed, feeling guiltier boy the second. "Hey," he said, looking at her. "You're great at what you do. Better than anyone else I know."

She kissed him softly, clenching her eyes shut against the tears wetting her eyes. "Thank you," she'd whispered desperately.

"I love you, Nina."

"I love you too, Tony."

End Flashback

How were they going to kill her? Would it be soft and sweet, like falling to sleep? Or would there be pain? Would she know it was happening to her, or would she be clueless?

God. Nina wished she'd been given a chance to truly say goodbye. Even if Tony didn't want to see her alive, even though Jack had almost killed her, she wanted to see them before she died.

"Hey," Bryn called softly, pressing her round face to the bars. "Good luck tomorrow."

Nina was startled. "Thank you." She didn't realize Bryn had listened to Anderson's rambling.

"Look, Bryn, you never did tell me why you're here," Nina said, curious. Bryn's face blanched through the bars. Nina could taste her reluctance to confide. It was palpable.

"Please, Bryn. As a friend." Nina implored innocently.

"It's not that I don't trust you or something," Bryn said carefully, twisting her hair around her finger. "Like I said, you're the only friend I have now. Or whatever is closest to that. It's just that…you won't believe I'm innocent."

Nina laughed ironically, smiling wretchedly. It was time to lay down the facts. "Bryn, I'm accused of murder and treason. And I am guilty. Well, sort of. So I honestly couldn't think any less of you at all." She tried to convey sheer honesty to Bryn.

Bryn looked troubled, but opened her mouth. "I'm charged with the murder of ten teenagers," she said expressionlessly, her eyes wild with fear. She looked away. Nina sensed her hesitation, so she rose clumsily to her feet and walked over to the barred frame of the window, slipping her slender hands between them.

"I don't know who killed them. But I had no alibi for that night and the evidence at the house where the teenagers were proved me guilty."

"Where were you that night?" Nina pressed inquisitively, curious.

Bryn hesitated. "I was at a party. It got crazy; things were out of control. I got high," she admitted finally, the sobs suppressed in her mouth. Bryn's shoulders shook slightly. "I couldn't recall anything I did, anything anyone did to me, and somehow my purse was at the house. The people who died were partying, too, so it looked like there was some sort of rivalry between the partiers, and they got shot in the process. I was the suspect; they arrested me. Simple."

Nina reached over for Bryn's fingers and squeezed them tenderly, trying hard to be strong for her. Soothing her.

"Well, not to disappoint you, but I think I win in terms of crimes committed." Nina smirked, daring Bryn to laugh. She did.

Bryn laughed easily through her tears, smiling weakly. Nina felt a sudden twinge of empathy rush through her. It startled her, for she didn't know she could still fell, but she was relieved to know she wasn't some sort of sociopath. It was nice to know she could at least feel.

"You're not a bad person, though," Bryn assured Nina comfortingly, brushing away her tears clumsily with the back of her hand. Nina half-smiled, looking away, a faraway gaze in her eye.

Am I? she wondered.

_No._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Hello, Renee," Anderson called as Nina and he walked slowly by. The young woman, Renee, lifted her head and smiled tightly.

Anderson had gone to Nina's holding cell at eight thirty to wake her up, as she was supposed to check into the court building by nine thirty at the latest. Her attorney was supposed to take her, apparently, so she'd eaten and then gone with Anderson to meet him.

Nina was still dressed in the faded grayish blue prison suit they'd issued her, though she was fairly certain she wasn't a prisoner until the hearing was over with. Or trial. Whatever it was, it was just protocall.

She snickered at that. Wouldn't Chappelle be pleased I'm following protocall? she thought wryly, smirking. It really wasn't that funny. She was walking to a definitive death. Well, almost definitive. Really.

"Hello, Nina," said a thin man in a navy suit, approaching her. He shook her hand, ignoring the clanking of her manacles. Nina rolled her eyes at him, and he took a step back.

"My name is Mitch Gregory." At this, Gregory cleared his throat. "Consider me your new chaperone. I'll be your attorney and representative for trial. We need to discuss your situation, and you need to decide how you want to plead." He adjusted his tie. "Are we clear on this?"

Nina shot him a withering look, her eyes lowered malevolently. What a fraud. "Fine." Whatever, she thought inwardly, sighing.

"I want you to know, I'm on your side, Nina," he told her, somewhat disinterestedly.

"Yeah, sure," Nina mumbled, keeping her face down.

"I'll be taking you to the court building, then." He reached for Nina's arm and led her forward. He looked as muscled and as hardcore as a field agent, which was probably why he was allowed to escort her.

"Good day, Richard," Gregory called to Anderson, and with that, Nina's fate shifted from pawn to pawn.

They strode in step to another identical, monotonous government van, and Gregory ordered Nina inside. She awkwardly slid into the back seat and sighed.

Another security guard slipped into the passenger's seat, a precaution, as if the mesh grating separating her from the front of the car and the locked doors weren't enough. Nina exhaled noisily, touching her fingertips to her forehead. It was going to be, without any doubt, the longest day of her life.

(20 minutes later)

Gregory expertly pulled into a parking space, and promptly halted the car. The guard maneuvered out of the passenger's seat, opened the back door, and linked his arm around Nina's. She tensed, always wary of anyone touching her.

"All right, let's do this," Gregory called, locking his van. Nina arched her back and stiffly allowed herself to be lead forward.

The court building was an ash-gray cement structure, dull and highly predictable, for a federal building. As they strode briskly up the steps, Gregory went on and on endlessly about Nina's hearing, and what she should say.

"You do know you are pleading guilty, don't you?" he asked at one point, observing her closely.

"Yeah," she muttered, her expression tentative.

"All right, now. I must want you to explain the circumstances you went through with Anderson, and act remorseful, please. With luck, you can hope for forty to life without bail."

Nina nodded, ignoring the raw sting in her eyes. She waited for the guard to open the glass door and passed through. Gregory scanned a brief listing of the rooms on each floor, then led them to the front desk.

"Excuse me," he called. A secretary bustled hurriedly over, her neat ponytail starting to wisp around the edges. She scrutinized Gregory and Nina expectantly.

"Yes?" She propped her glasses up on her nose.

"I'm here to sign in Ms. Nina Myers along with myself for a trial at ten." Nina watched with grim satisfaction as the woman's soft face betrayed her awe and fear. Deliberately, Nina smiled brightly and waved.

"Hello," she trilled lightly.

The secretary was flustered. "Um…yes, here's the sheet. Sign full names please, along with the date and time as shown."

"Thank you," Gregory answered sincerely, scrawling his name along with Nina's. The guard tailing them checked in and went off to make rounds in the exterior.

The dim hallway opened into an outer room with a series of labeled doors leading to other rooms. Gregory surveyed the numbered plaques fastened beside the doors and chose one decisively, walking knowledgably over to it.

"This is the courtroom," he told her, flipping the handle on the door.

Oh, thrills, Nina thought dully as she followed him in.

Inside, the room was only half filled with people, most clustered in small groups. Conversations halted as Nina strode in with Gregory, and she once again smiled grimly at their open-mouthed stares.

The only things she knew about any court were from televisions, and that usually involved two parties – the defense and the prosecution. Judge Judy wasn't going to help her out here. This was more of a hearing than an actual trial, regardless of what they called it officially, as far as Nina knew, anyways. It was all going to be fairly new to her.

Gregory accompanied her to a small desk in the center of the room, between the judge's desk and the rows of benches for the spectators, who, for some reason, wanted to watch Nina's prosecution. Nina sank into the chair, not sure she could muster the strength to stand anymore.

(30 minutes later)

"All rise," the clerk called sonorously, and Nina stumbled to her feet. "Judge Marie Edmunds presiding." A tall woman strode importantly into the room, her ripples of coffee colored hair floating gracefully behind her. She looked young, but firm, Nina decided, as she studied the furrow in her brow, and the lack of smile lines in her face. And fair, Nina thought hopefully, slinking back into her seat.

"This begins the trial of Nina Myers, pleading guilty to the charges of murder and treason. After the case is presented and observed, the jury is to decide if the option of execution is an appropriate solution to this case. IF not, Judge Edmunds is to decide the corresponding punishment for Nina Myers."

Nina swallowed shakily, scared for real now. The gavel rammed loudly against the hard granite surface of the desk, and with that, the trial commenced.

(1 hour later)

"So you were approached by the extremists to help them?" The question had been repeated twice before.

Nina sighed inwardly. They had gone over her story already, but pressed her for detail after detail, name after name she claimed not to know.

"Yes," Nina replied simply, not wanting to go into it any more than she had to. So far, she'd answered as vaguely truthfully as she could, trying to convey her honest regret for it all. She bit her half-healed lip, keeping her eyes to the floor.

The judge probed Nina's face with her sharp, keen eyes. "Do you deny any of the charges you are accused of or the role of your involvement in them?" Her voice was rattling with solemnity, her face clear and honest.

Nina hesitated tentatively. "No," she murmured finally, her voice wavering. Be strong, she told herself. "I did what I did, and I'm sorry for that. I am."

Edmunds nodded slightly. "Thank you, Ms. Myers. Mr. Gregory." Gregory acknowledged her recognition with a raised hand. "Is the jury ready to confer in private?"

Evidently, they'd showed some sign they were, because Edmunds nodded slightly, and the men and women filed noiselessly out. Nina pressed her cold hand against her forehead; it felt cold and clammy. She did not know how well she'd explained it all, but the process seemed fair enough, and no one was biased.

God, how long was it going to take? Was it a good or bad sign that it was taking awhile? Nina flexed her fingers, ignoring the handcuffs around her wrists, digging into her skin.

Gregory whispered hoarsely, "Good work." Nina glowered, staring straight ahead, ignoring him coldly. She could feel her body tighten, taut with the stress that now was boiling in her veins, rushing through her blood.

She'd never felt this alone, this scared, or this uncertain. Nina didn't want to die. She never had. No matter how hard things got, she'd never thought of the finale of her life. Could they honestly end her life? Did they have that much power over her?

As Nina was pondering these things, the doors opened swiftly, letting a soft breeze loose into the room. Nina turned; she couldn't help it. The extent of the jury marched regally in, their faces vacant of all expression and impossible to interpret. Nina felt her stomach flip, and she rubbed her hand against her temple. Tony's habit. One she'd picked subconsciously, probably from living with him.

It seemed to take hours for the jury members to reach their seats. It seemed as if they were trying purposefully to prolong the decision, to torment Nina.

Finally, Judge Edmunds spoke, her clear voice directed at the jury. "Has the jury come to a decision?"

A gray-haired, grandfatherly looking man rose to his feet. He must be the jury leader, thought Nina, sitting up straighter.

"The jury has decided, based on the evidence gathered and presented here in this courtroom, that Ms. Nina Myers – "

Nina swallowed hard as he paused, looking directly at her, his eyes scorching her. This was it. The final conclusion of her life would be made here, if they so chose. So, Nina waited to hear the words she'd both dreaded and anticipated.


End file.
